Compassionate Communication Virtual Workshop Series - Spring 2026

UC San Diego’s Center for Compassionate Communication proudly presents the Spring 2026 Compassionate Communication Virtual Workshop Series

This free, skills-based program is specially designed for health care professionals, medical educators, and researchers. Through interactive sessions, participants will learn how to communicate with greater compassion—and, in turn, greater effectiveness—with patients, healthcare teams, medical trainees, and beyond.

Spring 2026 Workshop Schedule:

Can Conflict Be Compassionate?
📅 Monday, February 2, from 8 - 9 a.m. (PST)

How can you show you care– even when you deeply disagree? What if conflict wasn’t something to avoid, but an opportunity to connect more deeply, to get closer to the truth? What would have to be true for you to genuinely consider another perspective? Join ICF-certified coach Kelsey Brennan in this interactive workshop as we reflect on our own patterns of listening, explore ways to thoughtfully prepare for conflict-heavy conversations, and apply a coaching mindset to balance acceptance with advocacy.

Navigating Moral Distress in Healthcare Leadership and Education
📅 Tuesday, March 10, from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. (PST)

The burden of moral distress is too often placed solely on individual healthcare providers, accompanied by calls for resilience, self-care, and the proverbial "stiff upper lip." However, a paradigm shift is underway that urges healthcare leaders to move beyond individual coping strategies and instead foster institutional culture change. This session introduces a concrete, five-step moral distress debriefing tool that integrates elements from several existing frameworks. By shifting the burden from individuals to systems, the tool fosters shared responsibility, reduces provider isolation, and promotes sustainable, values-driven practice in today’s complex and evolving healthcare environment.

When Leaders Listen: How Clinician Insight Shapes Departmental and Systemwide Action
📅 Wednesday, April 15, from 8 - 9 a.m. (PST)

This session explores how the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Office for Organizational Well-Being (OWB) listens deeply to frontline clinicians and transforms that feedback into meaningful, multi-level culture change. Through its Department Enhancement Project (DEP) framework and the Organizational Well-Being Executive Leadership Team (OWBELT) Action Plan, OWB has created intentional structures that surface root issues, elevate frontline perspectives, and translate insights into coordinated department- and system-level improvements. Participants will learn how these interconnected frameworks foster transparency, collaboration, and accountability, and how to adapt similar ground-up approaches to create strategic interventions and accelerate culture change within their own organizations.

From Overwhelmed to Empowered: Thriving in a Challenging Scientific Climate
📅 Thursday, May 7, from 12 - 1 p.m. (PST)

In today’s fast-shifting socio-political landscape, where science and medicine intersect with public debate, it’s natural to feel weighed down—by waves of misinformation, by skepticism that challenges evidence, and even by the intensity of our own emotional responses. Yet within this turbulence lies an opportunity: to transform overwhelm into empowerment, and to cultivate resilience that allows us not only to endure but to thrive. This webinar is designed to help you shift from a place of stress and fatigue to one of strength, clarity, and purpose.

We’ll explore how to:

• Recognize and manage our own emotional responses to the current climate
• Protect our emotional and physical well-being while navigating anti-science narratives
• Remain open to new or uncomfortable ideas without compromising our values
• Stay grounded and positive to prevent burnout
• Draw strength from a supportive, like-minded community— a collective anchor of resilience, rooted in evidence based understanding.

This session is not just about strategies—it’s about solidarity, self-awareness, and sustaining the energy to keep doing meaningful work. Whether you're a scientist, educator, health professional, or advocate, you’ll leave with tools to stay empowered and connected in the face of challenge.

Get a sneak peek into our Compassionate Communication Virtual Workshops ⤵️